Lever-and-quadrant apparatus.



PATENTED APR. 18, 1905.

H. AUSTIN.- LEVER AND QUADRANT APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 12, 1904.-

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[4a veyzmr Werer eflwdn/ PATENTBD APR. 18; 1905.

. H. AUSTIN.- LEVER AND ,QUADRANT APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 12, 1904.

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ll/lllllllf z a Q s UNITED STATES Patented April 18, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

LEVER-AND-QUADRANT APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 787,714. dated April 18 1905.

Application filed November 12, 1904- Serial No. 232,435.

'10 all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HERBERT AUs'rIN, engineer, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Berwood Grove, Chester Road, in the city of Birmingham, England, have invented certain new and useful improvements in or connected with lever-and-quadrant apparatus, such as used for operating changespeed mechanism of motor-cars, operating railway-signals, and for analogous purposes, of which the following is a specification.

In using lever and quadrant apparatus, such as is ordinarily employed for operating change-speed mechanism of motor-cars, operatingrailway-signals, or for an analogous purpose, the slider is moved out from a notch of the quadrant through the medium of a supplementary handle or a pusher carried by the lever, and if the supplementary handle or pusher is released at once the slider becomes reengaged with the same notch, and in continuing to hold in the supplementary handle or press down the pusher until the movement of the lever in the desired direction has commenced there is a liability that the lever will be moved through a greater distance than is at the time required, as if the lever is moved rapidly the supplementary handle or pusher may not be released in time to insure that the slider will automatically engage with the next notch.

Now this invention has forits object to provide against the liability of the lever being accidentally moved beyond the particular notch with which it is at anytime desired the slider shall engage to retain the lever in the fresh position into which it is to be moved.

The above object is accomplished according to this invention by combining with the leverand-quadrant apparatus means which operate automatically and insure that when the slider is disengaged from a notch of the quad rant it is held out-from such engagement, thus allowing the handle or pusher by which the disengagement has been effected to be released and which insure that as the lever is moved from one notch to another the slider will be released and will automatically engage with such other notch unless held out of engagement by the operator.

Broadly describing the means by which the principal or leading idea embodied in this invention is carried out, acatchpiece or holder which is carried by the lever is moved by the force of a spring when the slider has been moved out of engagement with a notch into a position which insures that the slider will be held out thereby, and this catch-piece upon the lever being moved in a direction toward another notch isitself moved clear of the slider again through the medium of a projection of the quadrant which moves an end of such catch-piece or actuates an appliance which moves out the catch-piece. In using the leverand-quadrant apparatus thus provided the supplementary handle or pusher is released again immediately the slider has been disengaged from a notch, and the slider remains in its outward position until at some point before the next notch is reached the slider is released in the manner above described and then presses against the edge of the quadrant until on reach- 'ing the next notch it immediately springs thereinto. The operator may, however, of course, if he desires, hold the slider out from engaging with a notch or any number of notches while he moves the lever past such notch or notches.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood, I have illustrated, by way of eX- ample, two practical forms thereof upon the accompanying sheets of drawings.

In the said drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation showing as much of the quadrant apparatus as is necessary to make the invention clearand showing the slider to be engaged with one of the notches of the quadrant. Fig. 2 is a corresponding view to Fig. 1, but shows theslider to have been disengaged from the notch and the lever to have been moved part of the distance toward the notch to the right hand which is next to the notch with which it is shown to be engaged by Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is an end or edge View as seenlooking in the direction of the. arrow a, Fig. 1, a part of this view being a section taken on line w a; of Fig. 1. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are respectively 'views similar to Figs. 1, 2, and 3,.illustrating a modified construction.

The construction shown in the principal figures will now be described.

A is the handle-lever; B, a pusher-rod carrying at its lower end the slider b, which is adapted to engage with any notch of a set of notches 0 0 0 &c., formed in the under side of the curved quadrant-bar C, all as or similarly as has been heretofore known. According to this form of the invention, however, an L-lever D, having an outward arm (Z and a downward arm d, is pivoted to the lever A, and the upper edge of the quadrant-bar C is formed with a number of projections e 6 6 &c., which are for use when the lever A is to be moved in the direction of the arrow (0 in connection, respectively, with the notches c c 0 &c., and when such lever is to be moved in the opposite direction in connection, respectively, with the notches 0 0 0 &c. The outward arm 05 of the L-lever D carries an antifriction-rollerf and is pulled with adownward force by a spring g. This spring is connected at one end to a mounting h, which is fixed to the leverA, and at its other end to the outer end of the arm (Z. When the pusherrod B has been depressed sufiiciently to move the slider 6 out from a notchfor instance, the notch 0-and somewhat farther in the same direction, the L-lever D is moved by the force of the spring g and brings the lower end of the arm (Z over a sidewise-projecting portion of the slider and prevents the slider reengaging with such notch though the pusher is immediately released. As the L-lever is thus moved the roller f is brought down upon the upper edge of the quadrant-bar C. If the lever is then moved in the direction of the arrow a, the roller f runs up the nearest projection-for instance, the projection acausing the lower end of the downward arm d of the L-lever to move back again clear of the slider, and the slider is then drawn up by the force of the spring j, acting through the medium of the pusher-rod, and bears against the under side of the quadrant bar G, as

shown by Fig. 2, and when it coincides in position with the next notchfor instance, the notch cas the lever A continues to move in the same direction it is automatically drawn up by the force of the spring into such notch, unless, of course, it is held down by the operator. In the meantime the roller f has passed clear of the projection which it has been described as having run up, and thus when the slider is moved down out of this notch by again depressing the pusher-rod B the L-lever will be operated as before to hold it out from reengagement therewith, and so on for'each succeeding notch. It will be seen that the action of the apparatus is the same in relation to the moving of the lever A in the opposite direction, except that in such case any projection which has insured that the slider will engage with any particular notch as the lever is moved in the direction of the that there is required one projection less in number than the number of the notches,

The mounting h, to which one end of the spring g is connected, may conveniently form also the guide for the slider b, and consequently for the lower end of the pusher, as shown.

Referring now to the form of the invention shown by Figs. 4:, 5, and 6, which correspond, respectively, to Figs. 1,2, and 3, the lever, pusher, slider, quad rant-bar, notches, and projections correspond to those of the form of the invention described with reference to the earlier figures and are similarly lettered. The slider & is held out of engagement with a notch immediately it has been moved out therefrom and somewhat farther in the same direction by a catch in, which is capable of sliding within a guide on, fixed to the lever A, in a direction at right angles to the slider. The catch is pressed forward by a spring at to insure that it will automatically pass over a shoulder of the slider when the latter has been moved down, and the catch is withdrawn again, so as to allow the slider to be moved up and press against the quadrant-bar C and engage with the next notch when it has been moved unto coincidence therewith by means of a bar 19, carried in vertical guides 9 which project from the lever A. This bar p is supported by a rollerf, corresponding to the roller described with reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and is raised each time the roller runs up one of the projections e (1' e, &c., of the quadrant-bar C, and this harp is formed at its lower end with an inclined face g, which as the bar is raised bears against a corresponding face q of the catch is and moves back such catch from the slider I). As the roller f runs down from a projection it of course allows the bar 32 to fall and clear the face 9 of such bar from the face 9 of the catch, so that when the slider has been again disengaged from a notch the catch-head will again automatically engage therewith. The downward movement of the bar may be quickened, if desired, by the action of spring 9. The guide on may form also the guide for the slider b, as shown, and consequently also for the lower end of the pusher-rod B, and may form also, as shown, the lower guide 9" for the bar p.

For simplicity of description the apparatus has been described with reference to the drawings as if it were in each case single-sided; but the quadrant-bar would usually be doublesided, as shown in the illustrations, in which case each side would be notched and provided with projections and the other parts would be constructed accordingly, all as will be readily understood.

The details of apparatus constructed according to this invention may be varied considerably, as will be obvious, without departing from its nature.

Having thus described my invention, what for moving the slider into engagement with a notch, means by which the slider may be moved out of engagement with a notch, a catch or holder carried by the lever, means by which such catch or holder is engaged with the slider when the latter has been moved out of en-- gagement with a notch and prevents it reengaging therewith, and a releaser which is also carried by the lever, there being an obstruction placed in the path through which the releaser is moved, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In lever-and-quadrant apparatus, the combination of a lever, a slider carried by the lever, a quadrant having notches with any one of which the slider may be engaged, a spring for moving the slider into engagement with a notclnmeans by which the slider may be moved out of engagement with a notch, a catch or holder carried by the lever, means by which such catch or holder is engaged with the slider when the latter has been moved out of en gagement with a notch and prevents it reengaging therewith. and a releaser which is also carried by the lever, and adapted to bear against the quadrant, there being a projection of the quadrant with which the releaser comes in contact, as the lever isturned on its axis, and which moves the releaser and thereby disengages the catch or holder froni the slider, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. v

3. In lever and quadrant apparatus, the combination of a lever, a slider carried by the lever, a quadrant having notches with any one of which the slider may be engaged, a spring for moving the slider into engagement with a notch, means bywhich the slider may be moved out of engagement with a notch, a catch or holder carried by the lever, means by which such catch or holder is engaged'with the slider when the latter has been moved out of engagement with a notch and prevents it reengaging therewith, and a releaser formed with such catch or holder, there being an obstruction placed in the path through which the releaser is moved, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In leverandquadrant apparatus, the combination of a lever, a slider carried by the lever, a quadrant having notches with any one of which the slider may be engaged, a spring for moving the slider into engagement with a notch, means by which the slider may be moved out of engagement with a notch, a catch or holder carried by the lever, means by which such catch or holder is engaged with the slider when the latter has been moved out of engagement with anotch and prevents it reengaging therewith, a releaser which is also carried by the lever, a portion of the releaser which is adapted to bear against the quadrant, and a spring which presses such portion of the releaser against the quadrant, there being a projection of the quadrant with which the releaser comes in contact as the lever is turned on its aXis, and which moves the releaser and thereby disengages the catch or holder from the slider, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In lever and quadrant apparatus, the combination of a lever, a slider carried by the lever, a quadrant having notches with anyone of which the slider may be engaged, a spring for moving the slider into engagement with a notch, means by which the slider may be moved out of engagement with a notch, a catch or holder carried by the lever, means by which such catch or holder is engaged with the slider when the latter has been moved out of engagement with a notch and prevents it reengaging' therewith, a releaser formed with such catch or holder, a roller carried by the outer end of such releaser, and a spring which presses such roller against the quadrant, there being a projection of the quadrant with which such roller comes in contact, as the lever is turned on its axis, and which moves the releaser and there' by disengages the catch or holder from the slider, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed Witnesses:

ROBERT G. GROVES, E. HARKER. 

